A wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be operated according to an IEEE 801.16 standard which may also be referred as a WiMAX. The WiMAX network may transport data between for example, a base station (BS) and a mobile station (MS) in a secure manner.
According to the IEEE 802.1x standard, in order to establish a secure link between the BS and the MS, the BS may request the MS to send its device identification (ID) over an air link in an unsecure manner in order to derive security keys to protect the device ID and to establish the secure link using the keys. However, sending the device ID over the air link in an unsecure manner may expose the MS to malicious attracts.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.